Scorpius
Scorpius was the Scarran/Sebacean hybrid commander of the Peacekeeper force. Character History Pre-Show Scorpius was born to Rylani Jeema Dellos, a Sebacean woman who was abducted by Scarrans and raped by Wolesh, a soldier-caste Scarran male. She died in childbirth. Scorpius was the only survivor (in 91 attempts) of a breeding program looking into the possibility of hybrid Scarran/Sebaceans and their potential advantages. Under the brutal guidance of a ruling-caste Scarran woman named Tauza, Scorpius spent his childhood forced into rigorous testing to see if such hybrids could be useful. She tried to destroy his Sebacean "weaknesses," such as his susceptibility to heat. When he was 12 cycles old, Scorpius escaped and spent several cycles in the Uncharted Territories unsuccessfully searching for information about his origins. Finally, he turned himself over to the Peacekeepers, offering them inside information about the Scarrans that Peacekeeper First Command never had. In exchange for that information, the Peacekeepers told Scorpius the truth about his birth and gave him the location where his mother had been captured. He went there, walking straight into Tauza's trap. Back in her "care," Scorpius soon killed her and helped the Peacekeepers find and destroy the Dreadnought on which he was imprisoned. For his apparent loyalty he received an exemption from all Peacekeeper racial purity regulations and began his career in the Peacekeepers. He quickly advanced in the ranks of the Peacekeeper military and created a special task force to develop wormhole technology. Scorpius' personal goal was revenge against the Scarrans; he sought to harness the potentially limitless power of wormholes and use them as a weapon to help the Peacekeepers annihilate the species that raped and killed his mother. There was one obvious disadvantage to Scorpius' lineage. Scarrans thrive on heat and create massive amounts of it within their bodies, but Sebaceans are especially reactive to high temperatures and suffer from heat delirium with it. Scorpius dealt with this dilemma by using a complicated protective suit and cooling rods inserted into his brain that regulate his body temperature. Gradually the rods heat up, taking the warmth from his body, and must be replaced with fresh, cool ones.Mind the Baby The cooling rod apparatus was originally implanted by the Diagnosan Tocot. He also had a very non-trusting but highly sexual relationship with the Scorpion-like alien Natira; this relationship continued on and off until roughly the end of Season 2. Prior to Sikozu, she is his only known romantic connection. Season One Scorpius discovered in his youth that his unique heritage gave him the ability to see other beings' "energy signatures." He found that each species had a particular signature. He also discovered that the energy signatures changed when one was lying. This ability enabled Scorpius to identify the human John Crichton as a non-Sebacean when they passed in a corridor on Scorpius' secret Gammak Base in the Uncharted Territories.Nerve With his special assistant Niem, Scorpius interrogated Crichton in the Aurora Chair, a device he had helped the Peacekeepers develop. He discovered that Crichton was also interested in wormholes. In fact, Crichton had information about wormholes implanted in his brain. Scorpius could not extract that information, and Crichton could not access it, either.The Hidden Memory Scorpius took a different approach, implanting a neurochip into Crichton's brain designed to gather all the wormhole information and to protect Crichton until the job was done. The neurochip remained in Crichton's head for about a cycle before Scorpius retrieved it. Season Two In the meantime, however, Crichton and his companions had destroyed Scorpius' Gammak Base Family Ties and evaded his command carrier, prevented him from capturing Crichton in the Breakaway Colonies, nearly killed him three times, and destroyed a Shadow Depository that contained a fortune in property belonging to him. Having recovered the neurochip and the all-important wormhole information it contained, Scorpius left Crichton to die and returned to his command carrier to begin work on piecing everything together. Season Three For most of a cycle, Scorpius and his scientific team painstakingly continued the wormhole research, but they still could not unlock the most heavily encrypted equations. Prowler pilots who flew into a wormhole returned as liquid that filled the cockpit to the canopy. Scorpius, believing that a war with the Scarrans was inevitable and that the vastly outnumbered Peacekeepers were bound to lose unless they had wormhole weapons, sought help from the Crichton personality in the neurochip. He was unsuccessful and nearly died. Scorpius was so determined to harness wormholes that when Crichton offered to help in exchange for a number of concessions, protections and demands for himself and his crewmates, Scorpius agreed. Scorpius knew not to trust Crichton, but allowed him and his friends to come aboard the command carrier. While Crichton seemed to be working with the research team, Commandant Mele-On Grayza came aboard with orders from Peacekeeper High Command to shut down Scorpius' Gammak Project as a way to appease the Scarrans in upcoming peace negotiations. Although Scorpius got rid of Grayza temporarily, he knew his time was short. He threatened to destroy Earth if Crichton didn't get results before Grayza returned. Crichton and his companions were in fact trying to stop the wormhole project. In the end, former Peacekeeper Captain Bialar Crais ordered the Peacekeeper/Leviathan hybrid, Talyn, to Starburst inside the command carrier, destroying Scorpius' ship and effectively ending the Peacekeeper wormhole project. Scorpius became an outcast. Season Four Tortured and apparently killed on Grayza's orders, Scorpius survived, found and saved a deathly ill Aeryn Sun, and for this act, was granted asylum on Moya. His primary mission became to safeguard John Crichton and his wormhole knowledge from the Scarrans. Scorpius had been aboard Moya for more than half a cycle when Scarrans kidnapped Aeryn Sun. Crichton offered Scorpius all his wormhole knowledge in exchange for help in recovering Officer Sun. Scorpius agreed. In the course of the rescue, Scorpius was captured. His neural clone convinced Crichton to return for him, so the Moya crew staged a second rescue. They went to Katratzi, the seat of Scarran power, and discovered that it was one of the few places where the Scarrans could grow Crystherium Utilia, the plants that keep the Scarran ruling caste's brains functioning well. Scorpius agreed to forgo Crichton's wormhole promise if Crichton would destroy the plants. The nuclear bomb Crichton used obliterated the plants and much of Katratzi as well. Scorpius developed a romantic interest with the Kalish bioloid Sikozu, and the two of them were ejected from Moya to be picked up by Captain Braca's command carrier. When last seen, Sikozu was sitting on Scorpius' lap, Scorpius was pulling a cord tightly around her neck, and Braca was watching. The Peacekeeper Wars: The Mini-series During the Peacekeeper/Scarran War, Scorpius is given the position of commander of a Peacekeeper armada. Though his fleet's first battle goes well, Scorpius has his carrier pull out and make for Qujaga, the location of the recently revived John Crichton. With this action, Scorpius' commission is terminated and he is ordered to be executed on sight by the Peacekeepers' Grand Chancellor. Hoping to convince Crichton to give the Peacekeepers wormhole weaponry and end the war, Scorpius accompanies Crichton on his travels to Arnessk, in the captivity of the Scarrans, and back to Qujaga. He helps the crew of Moya defend the Eidelons' temple from a Scarran attack and he assists them when they are forced to fight their way back to Moya. Scorpius is last shown overseeing the signing of the treaty that ends the war, apparently quite satisfied that two people he despises, Grayza and Emperor Staleek, have been forced into peace. Season Five (BOOM! Studios comic books) After The Peacekeeper Wars, the Peacekeepers were shadows of their former, mighty selves - they did not have the numbers or resources that they possessed prior to the conflict. Scorpius abandoned his loyalties to the Peacekeepers, as the military giant's usefulness to him had run its course. Scorpius travels to Hyneria and, after entreating Dominar Bishan, is made Commissioner of Warfare. Shortly after he accepted the job, he found out John and Aeryn were on the planet, and assumed they were there to interfere with his work based on what Aeryn said at the end of the War. He was wrong, they were there to help Rygel get his throne back. After capturing them and threatening the life of their infant son, Scorpius choked Deke to death. Deke awoke about 4 seconds later and started to breathe again, which amused and intrigued Scorpius. John and Aeryn escaped, and, after Rygel had regained his throne, Rygel fired Scorpius and had him arrested for the deaths of Zhaan and D'Argo. Scorpius was last seen on a prison pod with nothing but a limited supply of air and left to die in Hynerian space after being arrested and banished by Rygel. Months later, Scorpius briefly appeared to John in a nightmare. An alternate version of him appeared in an alternate reality which featured both D'Argo and Zhaan; this Scorpius appeared to be John's friend and ally. (Farscape: Gone and Back) Several months after his banishment from Hyneria, he assisted a new powerful enemy known as the Kkore in conquering the galaxy while also seeking their destruction. Personality Scorpius' personality, at first glance, is cold, dangerous, and intimidating, especially to those who are either enemies or unfamiliar to him. But Scorpius has shown his softer, or less cold side several times. He seems to genuinely care about Sikozu and Braca, and to some extent Natira, although not nearly as much as the wormhole knowledge in John's brain. He will lie, cheat, steal, abandon allies or enemies (or even helpless civilians), tell the truth, kill in cold blood, risk his life, torture people, torture himself, risk the lives of others, use himself as a shield, desert his Peacekeeper post, and completely humiliate himself to achieve that end. Yet he is extremely intelligent, so much so that Moya's crew find themselves willing to keep him alive or ally themselves with him when they absolutely have to, despite that he murdered Gilina and his mental clone Harvey killed Aeryn Sun who Zhaan later sacrifices herself to resurrect. On top of that he has pursued and tortured the crew of Moya for cycles. He is as tough as they come and manages to survive anything that's thrown at him, throughout the entire show. Scorpius also honestly loves his biological mother, who he never met, and is consumed by anger at what the Scarrans did to her, and to himself. Scorpius is somewhat ashamed of his monstrous, half-Scarran heritage. As a result, he makes it a point to be very polite and precise when he talks, and particularly, to speak very softly and gently, not raising his voice even when angered. Only in rare moments of extreme rage will Scorpius raise his voice, revealing that he can speak using the inhuman guttural growl of a Scarran's voice. On these rare moments when he slips into speaking with a Scarran's growl, Scorpius will afterwards become very embarrassed with himself for giving in to his Scarran side. Quotes *(Seeing John for the first time): "That man. He is an impostor. Seize him." *"I long ago learned the advantages of patience." *"I've heard that one-fourth Scarran/Sebacean offspring would look quite handsome." *(In Scarran language) "That won't work on me." *"Mission accomplished, John." *" You give me what I WANT, or I SWEAR! I WILL KEEP YOU ALIVE, SO THAT YOU CAN WITNESS YOUR HOMEWORLD'S DESTRUCTION!" *"An attack that gives us an advantage in war WE ALL KNEW THAT WAS COMING!" * I cannot risk to kill the knowledge that he possesses. AND HE KNOWS THAT! *****! *Grunchlk, you can do one of two things with your mouth. The first is talk to me. (makes him bite off his own finger) That is the second. *HELLO JOHN! SO GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN! *I'm already HERE, ZHAAN! *If you don't trust me NOW, we're all as good as dead. *''(after seizing command of Crais' command carrier, Crais physically attacks Scorpius, who then grabs Crais' wrists and easily overpowers him, and throws him across the room like a rag doll'') "WHY MUST YOU FORCE ME TO DISPLAY MY PHYSICAL SUPERIORITY?! TO *YOUR* KIND AS WELL?!?!" (Scorpius suddenly looks very embarrassed, realizing he lost his cool and resorted to using his Scarran voice) Involving Others * :Scorpius: For my inconvenience you'll provide me with triple the value. :Natira: Double. :Scorpius: Triple. * :Sikozu: What assurance that I have that you'll watch my back? :Scorpius: Aside from the pleasantness of the task...... * :John: You want to see it? The thing you've been chasing my ass off all over the universe for? Torturing me, my wife, my friends for? You want to see it? The wormhole weapon. :Scorpius: Oh yes. :John: Beg. :Scorpius: I beg you! :John: That's not good enough! Say please! :Scorpius: Please. :John: Pretty please. :Scorpius: Pretty please. :John: With a cherry on top. :Scorpius: With a cherry on top. :John: Happy birthday. Now get out of my sight. :Scorpius: grrrrrrrr........ Trivia * Scorpius was developed as a character in the pre-production stages of Farscape and was intended to look more insectoid-like. Virginia Hey recalls her first time seeing him saying, "I was floored by this futuristic S&M post-punk pop star in his alligator suit." (Farscape: The Illustrated Companion) * When he made his first appearance on Farscape, it was originally intended only to be a 3 or 4 part story arc, but the producers saw much more potential in the character and in actor Wayne Pygram. * Scorpius' original costume called for "reptilian" contact lenses, but when producers saw Pygram in the costume without the lenses, they thought the image of his cold blue eyes made the mystique of the character more chilling. * In concept designs Scorpius had long white hair. * Wayne Pygram played a young Grand Moff Tarkin in Star Wars III: Revenge Of The Sith. * Scorpius is one of nine characters to appear in all four seasons of Farscape as well as The Peacekeeper Wars. The others are Crichton, Aeryn, D'Argo, Rygel, Chiana, Pilot, Stark and Braca. Alternate Versions Harvey Main Article: Harvey Episode: Multiple Harvey was a neural clone of Scorpius created by the neuro biotracer chip implanted into Crichton's brain. As part of the chip, the clone was programmed to recover the wormhole information in Crichton's brain without allowing the human to know about it. Because of this, the clone helped Crichton survive on multiple occasions. He remained in Crichton's mind even after the chip's removal, having been imprinted on Crichton's psyche after so much time in his head. The moniker "Harvey" was given to him by Crichton, referring to the invisible rabbit companion in the play and movie of the same name. Scorpius the Drummer ("Ringo") Episode: "Won't Get Fooled Again" While under a Scarran mind probe, Crichton encountered this version of Scorpius, whose image appeared as a drummer in a band performing at a Florida club. To further confuse Crichton, who was already rather bemused from the Scarran's attempts to break his mind, John had encountered another version of Scorpius, that of the neural clone. Because of this, in his only face to face chat with the drummer, Crichton mistook him for the "real" Scorpius. The drummer was easygoing and understanding, recognizing Crichton's distress and ordering him a drink for his troubles. The drummer did distinguish himself in that he wore a purple, leather vest over the cooling suit. Scorpius/John Episode: "Die Me, Dichotomy", "Infinite Possibilities - Daedalus Demands", "Infinite Possibilities - Icarus Abides" After the destruction of the Shadow Depository, the neuro biotracer chip containing the neural clone of Scorpius was operating more than it ever had before. At one point, the chip's consciousness was able to take over Crichton himself. When this happened and Harvey took over Crichton's mind and body, a visual representation of Crichton morphing into a Scorpius-like version of himself could be seen, presumably by him. While Crichton's mannerisms would change to mimic Scorpius', the visual image itself was not physical but only psychological and therefore unseen by Crichton's companions. This image would return months later when "Jack" the Ancient attempted to kill Harvey so that the wormhole knowledge in Crichton's brain to be unlocked. The attempt temporarily allowed Harvey to retake control of Crichton, hoping that Aeryn would kill Crichton before she realized that Harvey was dying. Though he almost succeeded, "Jack" was able to wake and stop Aeryn from carrying out Harvey's final sadistic wish. His personality was mainly a perfect mix of Crichton and Scorpius. He was severely attracted by Aeryn, and exhibited a dark and twisted version of Crichton's humorous side. He was loyal to his Scorpius side and succeeded in informing him of Crichton's location. Animated Harvey Episode: "Revenging Angel" While in a coma, Crichton could only experience the world through his own subconscious. As a result, Crichton had his mind become a cartoon. With the power of his mind, he was able to transform Harvey from this normal look to this colorful, animated image. Harvey was not pleased. Scorpius/Aeryn Episode: "Promises" Crichton's reunion with Aeryn on Moya was hardly what he had expected: she was dying and had brought Scorpius along. After seeing her in her coolant suit, so similar to that his greatest enemy had always worn, he hallucinated this image of Aeryn. The Scorpius/Aeryn wondered why Crichton could not just let Aeryn go and mocks him, saying that Scorpius, in whatever form, will always be with him. "Harvey" the butler Episode: "John Quixote" The butler, named Harvey probably as a nod to the neural clone, was a character in the mental game based on Crichton's memories. Harvey was uptight and a bit nervous, but served his masters, the married ogre (Crais) and princess (Aeryn). Harvey appeared very similar to Scorpius, though appeared to be at least partially if not totally made of wood, complete with a leaf growing out of the size of his nose. His clothing also greatly differed from that of Scorpius. The princess noted that he was an "incorrigible liar". He later aided his master the ogre in a sword fight with Crichton and Chiana. He fell to Chiana during the fight. Unrealized Ally Scorpius Farscape: Gone and Back This Scorpius from an unrealized reality was a friend and ally of Crichton and the crew of Moya. He also served under Dominar Rygel XVI and led Crichton to the tracker Roiin to help him find Peacekeeper Aeryn Sun. Appearances * Season 1 ** "Nerve" ** "The Hidden Memory" ** "Bone To Be Wild" ** "Family Ties" * Season 2 ** "Mind the Baby" ** "Crackers Don't Matter" (Possible hallucination) ** "Look at the Princess - A Kiss is but a Kiss" ** "Look at the Princess - I Do, I Think" ** "Look at the Princess - The Maltese Crichton" ** "Beware of Dog" ** "Won't Get Fooled Again" ** "Liars, Guns and Money - A Not So Simple Plan" ** "Liars, Guns and Money - With Friends Like These..." ** "Liars, Guns and Money - Plan B" ** "Die Me, Dichotomy" * Season 3 ** "Season of Death" ** "Losing Time" ** "Incubator" ** "I-Yensch, You-Yensch" ** "Into the Lion's Den - Lambs to the Slaughter" ** "Into the Lion's Den - Wolf in Sheep's Clothing" ** "Dog with Two Bones" (Vision) * Farscape: D'Argo's Trial: "Error and Trial" * Season 4 ** "What Was Lost - Sacrifice" ** "What Was Lost - Resurrection" ** "Promises" ** "Natural Election" ** "John Quixote" ** "I Shrink, Therefore I Am" ** "Coup By Clam" ** "Unrealized Reality" ** "Kansas" ** "Terra Firma" ** "Twice Shy" ** "Mental as Anything" ** "Bringing Home the Beacon" ** "A Constellation of Doubt" ** "Prayer" ** "We're So Screwed - Fetal Attraction" ** "We're So Screwed - Hot to Katratzi" ** "We're So Screwed - La Bomba" ** "Bad Timing" * Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars * Farscape: The Beginning of the End of the Beginning: ** "Return of the King" ** "Dungeons and Dominars" ** "Yes, That's Our Baby" ** "Hynerian Rhapsody" * Farscape: Strange Detractors: ** "Leave It to Crichton" (dream) ** "Together Again for the First Time" * Farscape: Gone and Back: "With Enemies Like These..." * Farscape: Compulsions: ** "Who's on Faust?" ** "Pleas and Bargains" ** "The Storm Before the Storm" * Farscape: Scorpius: ** "Fire and Ice" ** "Grim Intimations" ** "Violent Delights" ** "The Devil's Right Hand" ** "Knives at a Gunfight" ** "Speak in Thunder" ** "Between the Wheels" ** "The Unexpected Inevitable" * Farscape: The War for the Uncharted Territories: ** "Twice More Unto the Breach" ** "Death is Taxing" ** "Nothing Left to Lose" ** "Crawling From the Wreckage" ** "The Mediocre Escape" ** "Resistance is Useless" ** "Stark Contrasts" ** "Getting the Band Back Together" ** "Divided We Stand" ** "Talkin' Kkore Blues" ** "The Peace to End All Wars" ** "The Beginning of The End of The Beginning" References Category:Main characters Category:Season 1 characters Category:Season 2 characters Category:Season 3 characters Category:Season 4 characters Category:Peacekeeper Wars characters Category:Moya's crew Category:Peacekeepers Category:Hybrids Category:Comic characters